Universal joint



A. H. LEIPERT Oct. 12 1926.

UNIVERSAL JOINT Filed March 15, 1923 m abtom Patented Oct. 12, 1926.

f Ui-NilTj-ED STATE SIP AUGUST H. LEIPE-RT, OF COLLEGE POINT, YORK, ASSZIGNOR T INTERNATIONAL MOTOR OOMI'ANY, 01' NEW YORK, 21'. Y,, ,A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

UNIVERSAL JOINT.

Appl cati n :fii d vller h :1 1911 .SH fl 3 525,1

In Letters Patent of the United States No, 1,414,411, dated May 2, 1922, there s shown and claimed broadly a universal joint in which the turning eiiort f om one Shaft 5 to another is ,trane-lllitted through ;cords which extend from one shaft to another along straight lines which cords are $0. connected and related as to afford capacity for universal movement. In the particular em: bodiment shown in said patent the trans= mitting cords are carried in a yielding body which itself may be coupled to the shafts. Th o d i said construction a e placed under tens on when transmitting driving forces. By the present invention it is pro posed to employ the same principle but dife ent mean Co ds having some degre ol ielasl'icity are employed and thes Cords are connected to the driving and driven ncur he e under tension Driving forces are transi nittedby them along straightlines n acc ance with the prin iple des r hed. n said patent. The improved cords may or may not di pos d wi hin a sep r te ee r -er al h ugh the illustrated embodimen contempl e th t they shal be exp ed and hen Wound into p aee.,- put under t nsion and then secured fo the pu pose of pen orming their fun ion. i

The i vention w l. be described ith ref erence to the embodiment shown in the ac companying drawings, wherein: I

Figu e l is a ie in section through coupling members keyed to driving and drive en shafts and affording anchorage for the cords of the improved joint, the view being taken on the plane indicated by the line 11 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 2 is a View in end elevation showing the relation of the cords as extending from one member of the coupling to another.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation and somewhat schematic indicating a different form of coupling member over which the cords may be wound readily.

The two shafts to be coupled are indicated by the reference characters a and b, it being understood that one of the shafts such as a is the driving shaft and the other shaft such as b is the driven shaft. These shafts may be centered by any known and suitable devices such as a ball and socket or b", which Will afford suitable anchorage for the improved d ces for ran mi ing he driving forces. The invention is not to be imited to he form 0 des gn of such 0 1 ling devices. These coupling members are shown as having secured ito their faces rings (2, d, cu of w ch 0 is'il u e ed n F e 2- B lt holes 0" facilitate the securing of the ring as by bolts to the face o f the. 1coupling member a. The coupling member a may be cl1psl aped, 1d termin e in an n nu ar seat a against which ther ng may be fasten d-. On a mall r r diu i pr d ed aserie of holes 0 in the ring f r a pu pose which will appear. The ring l; and the coupling member I) to which it is secured a e similar y formedfllh pow r tran inittingeelement-in accordance with the i vention consists of cord e which is some Whetielestic and w ich in he p e rred embodiment will be wound endlessly throughhe-lioles 0 1 3 in h oppe e ring c, cl,

lilie inte e ne ting port n o the ndl s ord a ying alongeho ds f a circle struck,

about the-axis of th -shame, J and with a radius equal to the distance from one of the holes 0 (P, to such axis, all as indicated most clearly in Figure 2. The number of holes 0 d spanned by each such portion of the cord 6 will be determined by the conditions of use but the effect of the endless winding when completed is to provide a series of short lengths extending from one ring to the other and along which the driving forces are transmitted in a straight line regardless of the direction of rotation of the shafts a, b. The winding described provides for straight portions which cross each other adjacent their mid section and extend in opposite directions. A practical form of winding, as illustrated in Figure 2, is one in which the projection ona plane of a disc of three successive lengths of the cord e forms an equilateral triangular, each leg spanning the same number of holes. It is to be understood, of course, the same results might be secured by not using an endless cord 0 so long as the straight lengths between the coupling members are provided for trans niitting the driving forces along straight lines. In practice, however, it will be evident that the cord may be wound endlessly through the holes in the members 0, d, with the utmost facility and the cord meanwhile be anchored under tension as is desirable to secure the best results. The invention is not to be limited to the means of anchoring the cord. In some cases, it is evident that the ring 0, d, might have the cord 6 wound there in before the said rings are bolted to the respective couple members a, 6, although the invention is not limited to the actual mannor of assemblying.

An obvious modification is indicated in Figure 3 wherein each coupling member such as f may be provided with slots in its periphery f through which the cord 9 may extend endlessly when wound between two such coupling members 7 in the general manner hereinbefore described or anchored separately in said slots when'separate short lengths of such cord are employed. In any event the short lengths are confined under tension.

Other modifications may suggest themselves to one skilled in the art but are to be deemed within the spirit of the invention so long as driving forces are transmitted and universal movement afforded through devices of equivalent form.

hat I claim is:

1. A universal joint including driving and driven members having annular series of openings respectively, and a flexible non-metallic elastic transmission element extending under tension alternately between openings in the respective series to lie along chords of the said annuli and forming closed triangles in projections whereby the forces transmitted thereby are in equilibrium.

2. In a universal joint including driving and driven members, a flexible elastic transmission element extending under tension alternately between said members and forming a closed triangle in projection and means for connecting said element to said members.

2-3. In a universal joint including driving and driven .members, said members con1prising discs having an annular series of openings therein and a flexible transmission element threaded under tension through certain of the openings and forming a closed triangle in projection, whereby the forces transmitted thereby are in equilibrium.

4. In a universal jointincluding driving and driven members, a flexible transmission element wound under tension between said members in a continuous lap fashion and means upon the members engaged by the winding during its formation.

5. In a universal joint including driving and driven members, said members comprising discs having an annular'series of openings therein, a flexible transmission element threaded under tension through the openings in a continuous overlapping fashion.

(3. In a universal joint including driving and driven members, said members comprising discs having an annular series of openings therein, a flexible transmission element threaded under tension through the openings in a continuous retrogressive lap fash- 1011.

7. In a universal joint including driving and driven members, said members comprising discs having an annular series of openings therein, a flexible transmission element threaded under tension between the openings of the discs in such a manner that the projections upon the plane of either disc of three successive winding portions between open ings, forms a closed triangle.

This specification signed this 13th day of March A. D. 1923.

AUGUST H. LEIPERT. 

